The present invention relates to shifters for vehicle transmissions, and more particularly relates to a shifter having a shift lever that assembles quickly and easily to a shifter base without separate fasteners but that prevents accidental disengagement.
It is important that shifters be relatively easy to assemble and low cost to produce in high volume given the mass production techniques presently used by vehicle manufacturers, and given the highly competitive environment of the industry. However, it is also critical to maintain the reliability, serviceability, long-term functionality, and quality of shifter assemblies, since customers are very sensitive to their performance and operating characteristics. A shifter assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,855 having a shift lever configured to be slidably assembled to a base without the use of separate fasteners. Specifically, the shift lever includes protruding pivot sections (27) with flattened sides (28) that permit assembly along inlets (25) when in an assembly permitting angular position, but that become misaligned when the shift lever is fully assembled to its base and pivoted to an operating position. A problem can occur if the shift lever is pivoted while still positioned in the inlets, because this can cause damage to the shift lever pivot sections and/or the shifter base.
Accordingly, a shifter is desired solving the aforementioned problems and that can be efficiently constructed with a minimum of parts and with a minimum risk of misassembly, but which is secure, reliable, and serviceable.